Filmmaker-Performer Juan Pablo Di Pace (Before We Forget): "It's A Russian Doll Kind of Movie"
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
Release Date: 07/10/2025
DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
In this episode, Dennis is joined by comedian, writer and author Eliot Glazer to talk about his book The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay, which documents all the various ways Eliot has been doing the gay thing wrong virtually all his life. Eliot talks about his inspiration for writing the book, the decision to be so candid about his sex life, and the positive reception he's gotten from readers so far. He also talks about his high school drama teacher from hell, gays and body image, his complicated relationship with social media, and bachelorette parties in gay bars. Other topics...
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This episode features excerpts from the live comedy game show Dennis Hensley's MISMATCH GAME: Totally 80's Edition, which took place on Friday, August 28, 2026 in Hollywood. On the panel were Jackie Beat as Bea Arthur, Julie Brown as Bjork, Danny Casillas as Reba Areba, Rebecca Kochan as Jennifer Coolidge, Dante as Christopher Lloyd and Melissa Peterman as Rena Z. The questions cover such 80's icons as Michael Jackson and Bubbles the Chimp, Cyndi Lauper vs. Madonna, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Dolly Parton, The Brat Pack, The Golden Girls, Cats the Musical, Back to the Future, Charles and Diana,...
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In this episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by David Kittredge the director behind the wonderful new documentary Boorman and the Devil, which is about the legendary director John Boorman and the flop film that nearly killed him, The Exorcist 2: Heretic. David talks about why he felt compelled to make the movie, convincing Boorman to sit for an interview and the thoughtful and inspiring things the director had to say once the cameras were rolling. David also talks about interviewing the film's stars Linda Blair and Louise Fletcher and adoring both of them. Other topics include: David's first...
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In this Gay Days Anaheim sneak peak episode, Dennis is joined by the event's producer Eddie Shapiro and drag queen Jackie Cox, a Gay Days veteran who will be performing this year with her Drag Race compatriot Jan in a show called YKJ. Eddie shares the history of Gay Days, which is celebrating its 28th year, while Jackie discusses his personal connection to Disneyland, including working in the parade 20 years ago and having his first kiss on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride as a teenager. The conversation also covers the current political climate, with Eddie noting that corporate sponsorship...
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In this episode, Dennis speaks via Zoom with J.P. Batista, co-owner of the relatively new and proudly gay NoHo Gym in North Hollywood. J.P. talks why, after years as a personal trainer, he decided to open his own gym, what has surprised him about the experience and his advice to other entrepreneurs with dreams of starting their own businesses. He also talks about the last-minute Pride Festival he spear-headed in Toluca Lake Pride Festival in June and the overwhelmingly positive response he got from it. Other topics include: why he decided to proudly fly two rainbow flags outside the gym, the...
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Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright, screenwriter, actor and teacher Bernardo Cubria to talk about his hilarious and powerful new "dinner party gone wrong" play The People of Pompeii, which just opened at the Will Geer Theatricum in Topanga Canyon. (This is where Dennis first met Bernardo last fall as a student in his playwriting class.) The People of Pompeii is set in Topanga in the days following the evacuations from the 2025 fires and explores themes of community, climate change, and personal truth. Bernardo discusses his creative process, the importance of brutal honesty in...
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Dennis is joined via Zoom by singer-songwriter Paul Cher to talk about his new EP Home to Wonderland, his first release of original songs after putting out several albums of covers. Paul talks about getting the courage to put his own words and music out there, the divas that see him through like Donna Summer, Madonna, Cher and Diana Ross and his ever-changing feelings about streaming services. This episode is also a Listening Party which Dennis playing snippets of the EP's five individual songs: "Home to Wonderland," "The Skeleton Tree," "Mirage," "Black Dahlia" and "Straightjacket," which is...
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Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright Erik Patterson (Handjob) and actor Michael Sturgis (Clarkston) to talk about the terrific new play F++king Strangers, which Erik wrote at Michael stars in. The play is about four characters--two young gay men and a straight married couple--and their longing to connect in a world where it seems harder and harder to do so. Erik talks about what inspired the play, why he likes to explore sexuality in his plays and the moment when he literally can hear the audience gasp. Michael talks about his character in the piece, Ru, and how he thought about Ru's...
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Dennis is join via Zoom by documentary filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz to discuss his newest film Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, which is about the making of the controversial William Friedkin film Cruising, the real life murders it was inspired by and the gay activist movement it inspired. Jeffrey talks about the first time he saw the film, why he was inspired to make the doc, star Al Pacino's feelings about the film, the surprising discoveries he made along the way that changed the direction of the film and how the film, shot in 1979, is also a visual documentation of a time of sexual freedom...
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Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Tim Cummings who is currently starring as Arnie in the hit play Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale) at the Rustin Group Theatre in Santa Monica, CA. The play is about two estranged half-brothers, one in Idaho, one in Holland, who connect to discuss the care and finances of their ailing mother but end up reckoning with a whole lot more. Tim talks about seeing the play in New York in 2025 and experiencing a rush through his body that told him he had to bring the play to L.A. and star in it. He also talks about his character Arnie and how, though he's...
info_outlineDennis is joined via Zoom from Los Angeles by Juan Pablo Di Pace, the writer, co-director and star of the new film Before We Forget. The film is about an Argentinian film director in his 40s named Matias (played by Di Pace) who's struggling to finish a movie he's making based on his first love, 25 years ago, when he was a student at an international boarding school in Northern Italy. The movie is inspired by Juan Pablo's own experience at the same school where they shot the film, the United World College in Duino, Italy. Juan Pablo talks about the challenges he faced getting the film made, finding the perfect actor to play himself at 17, getting permission from his old school to shoot there and co-directing with his friend since childhood, Andrés Pepe Estrada who actually came to visit Juan Pablo when he was at the boarding school and is a character in the film. Juan Pablo also talks about one of the central themes of the film; that great loves from our younger closeted lives can leave marks that impact us well into adulthood. Other topics include: landing TV icon Norman Lear as an executive producer on the film, going almost all the way on Dancing With the Stars, appearing in Mamma Mia, playing an intense Marriage Story-like argument scene in the film The Mattachine Family, why it was important for him to be out in his career, the sneaky voyeuristic quality of VHS footage, getting his mother to play his mother on screen, playing Jesus Christ in the TV movie AD and shooting the crucifixion scene on Day 2 and the important role delusion plays where you're trying to make your creative dreams come true.
www.beforeweforgetmovie.com